February 13, 2010 (Isaiah 59-66)

Today finishes Isaiah. And today finishes the prophet's constant prodding about obedience. Chapter 59 starts out this way:

¹ Listen! The Lord’s arm is not too weak to save you,
nor is his ear too deaf to hear you call.
² It’s your sins that have cut you off from God.
Because of your sins, he has turned away
and will not listen anymore.

And as I read the following section I thought of the ACLU and their constant attacks against those who want to proclaim God's name and living for Him. I also thought of the court ruling mentioned earlier about the Ten Commandments having to be removed from Montgomery Alabama:

Isaiah 59:¹⁴ Our courts oppose the righteous,
and justice is nowhere to be found.
Truth falls dead in the streets,
and fairness has been outlawed.
¹⁵ Yes, truth is gone,
and anyone who tries to live a godly life is soon attacked.
The Lord looked and was displeased
to find there was no justice.

What does God love? What does He hate?

^{Isaiah 61:8} “For I, the Lord, love justice.
I hate robbery and wrongdoing.
I will faithfully reward my people for their suffering
and make an everlasting covenant with them.

And again, I think we get a glimpse of the attitude that those of us who know the Lord, who have been saved by His grace, should have:

^{Isaiah 61:10} I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God!
For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation
and draped me in a robe of righteousness.
I am like a bridegroom in his wedding suit
or a bride with her jewels.

I think God is trying to get our focus 'heavenward' instead of 'earthward'. He wants us to be overwhelmed with joy in Him because of what He has done for us. In the New Testament we are admonished to set our sights on heaven:

^{Colossians 3:1} Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. ² Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. ³ For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.

I'm finding it is exciting to see how the Old Testament compliments the New. And the New references back to the Old time and time again.

And now, back to the same struggle of His people:

^{Isaiah 63:7} I will tell of the Lord’s unfailing love.
I will praise the Lord for all he has done.
I will rejoice in his great goodness to Israel,
which he has granted according to his mercy and love.
⁸ He said, “They are my very own people.
Surely they will not betray me again.”
And he became their Savior.
⁹ In all their suffering he also suffered,
and he personally rescued them.
In his love and mercy he redeemed them.
He lifted them up and carried them
through all the years.
¹⁰ But they rebelled against him
and grieved his Holy Spirit.
So he became their enemy
and fought against them.

And now, without commentary I guess, a few more verses I highlighted:

^{Isaiah 64:4} For since the world began,
no ear has heard,
and no eye has seen a God like you,
who works for those who wait for him!
⁵ You welcome those who gladly do good,
who follow godly ways.

^{Isaiah 65:1} The Lord says, “I was ready to respond, but no one asked for help.
I was ready to be found, but no one was looking for me.
I said, ‘Here I am, here I am!’
to a nation that did not call on my name.
² All day long I opened my arms to a rebellious people.
But they follow their own evil paths
and their own crooked schemes.


¹⁰ The plain of Sharon will again be filled with flocks
for my people who have searched for me,
and the valley of Achor will be a place to pasture herds.

¹¹ “But because the rest of you have forsaken the Lord
and have forgotten his Temple,
and because you have prepared feasts to honor the god of Fate
and have offered mixed wine to the god of Destiny,
¹² now I will ‘destine’ you for the sword.
All of you will bow down before the executioner.
For when I called, you did not answer.
When I spoke, you did not listen.
You deliberately sinned—before my very eyes—
and chose to do what you know I despise.”

¹⁷ “Look! I am creating new heavens and a new earth,
and no one will even think about the old ones anymore.
¹⁸ Be glad; rejoice forever in my creation!


^{Isaiah 66:1} This is what the Lord says:

“Heaven is my throne,
and the earth is my footstool.
Could you build me a temple as good as that?
Could you build me such a resting place?
² My hands have made both heaven and earth;
they and everything in them are mine.
I, the Lord, have spoken!

“I will bless those who have humble and contrite hearts,
who tremble at my word.
³ But those who choose their own ways—
delighting in their detestable sins—
will not have their offerings accepted.

¹⁵ See, the Lord is coming with fire,
and his swift chariots roar like a whirlwind.
He will bring punishment with the fury of his anger
and the flaming fire of his hot rebuke.
¹⁶ The Lord will punish the world by fire
and by his sword.
He will judge the earth,
and many will be killed by him.

And then the book of Isaiah ends with the following words:

²² “As surely as my new heavens and earth will remain,
so will you always be my people,
with a name that will never disappear,”
says the Lord.
²³ “All humanity will come to worship me
from week to week
and from month to month.
²⁴ And as they go out, they will see
the dead bodies of those who have rebelled against me.
For the worms that devour them will never die,
and the fire that burns them will never go out.
All who pass by
will view them with utter horror.”

My footnote says of verse 24: God never intends his last word to be judgment, but this does not mean there will be some universal amnesty at the end of the world. Cause and effect will still be in force. Those who have refused to avail themselves of God's provision in Christ, who have insisted on their won ways and have rebelled against God's ways, will face eternal judgment. The figures here are later used to describe hell.